Crime (fiction) Fighting Duo
by WandCloakStone
Summary: AU- Jughead went to school on the Southside all his life. He's writing a fake "true crime" version of Riverdale where Jason was murdered. Betty dated Archie until he dumped her for Veronica. At a basketball game Betty flirts with Jug to show everyone she's over him. A friendship blossoms between them as they write his story together, growing closer every day
1. Chapter 1

JUGHEAD

I heave a sigh, adjusting my sitting position for the hundredth time on these uncomfortable metal bleachers. You'd think a fancy school like Riverdale High could afford some better benches. Toni shoots me an amused look. "It's more than half over, Jones. Chill."

"I'm fine."

She rolls her eyes, smirking as I shift again. "I'm gonna step out for a smoke, you want me to bring you back some candy?" I nod, giving her a sheepish smile. The one thing I really love, food. She stands and jerks her head at Fangs who follows her down the nearly empty visitor's section of the gym bleachers. They don't bother moving to the actual stairs, just push through a few kids as they step down the seats. Some "speak to your manager" mothers on the Riverdale side glare at them as they almost walk onto the basketball court.

"We're blue and gold! We're Dynamite!"

I watch the River Vixens cheer after their star player, some tall redhead with ANDREWS stamped across his back, scores again. Sweet Pea looks up at me from the court, miming strangling the Andrews kid behind his back. 'I'll hold him, you punch' I mouth to him. He smiles and heads to the visitor's bench as the Southside coach calls for a timeout. My gaze is drawn back to the cheerleaders as Andrews walks up to a raven haired girl. They kiss, really giving everyone a show. I roll my eyes and pull out a small leather bound notebook from the inside pocket of my serpent jacket. Maybe I can get a little writing done before Toni and Fangs get back.

I've maybe scratched out five sentences when, out of the corner of my eye, I see a blur of blue and blonde slide onto the bench next to me. I look up and see one the Riverdale cheerleaders smiling at me.

"Hello?"

"Hi," she smiles wider, "I know this is weird but can you just pretend to flirt with me for a few minutes?" The raven haired Vixen is watching us, almost staring daggers but with too much curiosity to be truly murderous. Her basketball boyfriend watches too, his jaw clenched tight.

"Making an ex jealous?" I ask, raising a brow at her.

She looks down, cheeks pink, and smiles embarrassedly. She's pretty cute, blonde hair tied into a gently curling ponytail, soft green eyes. "Maybe just a little," she meets my eyes again, "but more so just so they stop looking at me so pityingly."

I nod, "I get that. Alright, we can pretend to flirt if you tell me the story." I lean towards her, cocking my head to the side and try for a winning smile.

"I'm Betty Cooper," she pulls her hair over her shoulder, playing with a few strands, "Archie Andrews, the redhead down there, and I have been next door neighbors and best friends our whole lives. We started dating about four years ago until he dumped me last month for my best friend Veronica Lodge."

"The dark haired cheerleader?"

"Yeah. And the cherry on top is that they had been messing around behind my back all year before he told me. Then he tried to tell me it was my fault he went to Veronica," she shakes her head, giving a quick eye roll. "Okay, I'm going to touch you arm, if that's okay." She says it so seriously that my shock and anger over her situation gives way to genuine laughter.

"Go for it, Betty Cooper," I laugh again when she gives me a quizzical look. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, just the juxtaposition of those sentences together." Her hand rests lightly on my forearm, her torso leaning into mine. I know it's fake flirting but still some part of me feels good about her attention. I did mention she was cute right? "I'm sorry for your shitty friends. No one deserves to be treated like that. I'm Jughead, by the way, Jughead Jones the third."

"The third?" she smirks, "is Jughead a family name then?"

I shake my head, grinning, "no that's my nickname. I do _not _go by my real name. Neither does my dad. Too awful."

"Oh come on, now you have to tell me!"

"Sorry, our friendship level is not there yet." Her laugh is musical and, when she's finished, I want to hear it again. I lean back slightly, reminding myself this is fake. She's not really into you, Jughead, relax.

"I guess that's fair." She glances around the gym, eyes resting on Veronica and Archie for a moment before swinging back to me. "So what are you dong here? No offense but you don't seem the type for school spirit?"

That pulls another laugh out of me, "you're right about that. No, I'm just here for my friend, Sweet Pea. He's on Southside's team and they've been doing well this year so my friends and I wanted to come support him."

"I'm sorry, did you say your friend's name was 'Sweet Pea'? Does everyone on the Southside have weird names?" she jokes, squeezing my arm. She has a nice smile.

"Says the girl who cheers for a team that has a kid called '_Moose'_. It's even written on his jersey thing."

"Touché, Jughead Jones, touché," she pulls her hand away, leaning her cheek into it and propping her elbow on her knee, bringing her head within a few inches of mine. I swallow hard, feeling a little nervous for some reason. Before I can say anything though, the black haired Vixen, Veronica, comes over, stopping in front of us.

"Betty," she hisses, "the timeout has been over for a while now. We need you to come cheer now."

Betty sighs deeply, giving me an annoyed look before turning to her ex-friend. "Alright, Ronnie, I'll be right there," she stares at her until the Vixen walks back to the squad in a huff.

"Well, I guess I have to go," she holds her hand out to me like she's asking for something. At my dumbfounded look she says, "you're phone, dummy, I want to get to the appropriate friendship level to unlock all your secrets."

My stomach swoops, not unpleasantly at her words. "Oh! Yeah, here." I dig it out of my pants pocket, unlock it, and hand it to her, surprised, figuring I'd never talk to this girl again after this weird but fun conversation.

After typing out her info, she hands it back, "I texted my phone so I'd have your number too. Call me soon and I really mean that. Thanks for flirting with me, Jughead Jones the third." She stands and walks down the bleachers slowly. When she reaches her teammates, she looks up at me and smiles. I wave, ironically ecstatic and shaking my head, as my friends come clamoring back up the seats.

Toni's eyes dart between me and Betty. "Who's _thaaaat?"_ she trills excitedly, slapping a pack of MMs in my hand.

I groan, "no one. Her name is Betty." Toni has been pushing me to date since we were freshmen, even setting up a few double dates, but I haven't found anyone I like enough to take out again. "She came over to flirt to make her ex jealous."

She looks at me, confused, "and she picked you?"

"Gee, thanks," I mutter sarcastically, ripping open my candy.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," she laughs, elbowing me in the ribs, "just that you don't seem like her type. Which one is her ex?"

Fangs and Toni scan the court. I sigh, resigned to the fact that they aren't going to give this up. "Andrews," I relent, "the ginger."

After a few seconds appraisal, Fangs raises an eyebrow, nodding, "no I get it. You're very different from him. I could see it as like a 'I'm so over you I don't even want to date someone who looks like you anymore' thing."

"Yeah," Toni concedes, "that makes sense." She puts her attention back on Betty who is halfheartedly shaking her pompoms at the Riverdale basket end of the court. "She's cute, Jones. You gonna call her?"

The one called Moose fumbles the shot, the ball rebounding off the rim. Sweet Pea, the tallest one on either team, snatches the ball out of the air. "She's Northside," I shrug.

Betty walks over to a bench on the sidelines, rummages through a duffle bag for a while and eventually pulls out a water bottle. "So? I saw her on your phone. She gave you her number, right? You should talk to her again."

"She probably doesn't care one way or the other. "

My phone buzzes in my hand, the screen lighting up with "1 new message".

I pull up the conversation, first seeing '_Betty, it's Betty on Jughead's phone'_ going from my phone to hers. I smirk. What an efficient nerd.

'_If I guess your name will you tell me if I'm right?'_

"Is that her?" Toni asks too innocently.

"Shut up," I mumble, tapping out a '_sure_', confident that she'll never guess Forsythe Pendleton in a million years. Who would? It's a terribly stuffy name.

I look up at Toni in time to see her opening her mouth to say something more about Betty I'm sure. I really don't want to discuss my nonexistent love life or how she wants Betty to change it.

To my surprise, Fangs sides with me, "drop it, Topaz. It's his choice." They're usually so singularly minded, especially when it comes to making fun of me. This is a nice reprieve. I nod my thanks, turning back to watch the rest of the game. To my surprise, we are winning, not by much but it is a lead. I really don't care about sports all the much though so my attention diverts back to the River Vixens, wondering if she really was sincere. Admittedly I don't know much about her but she doesn't seem fake to me.

Faintly I can hear her ex-friend (captain?) call her name sharply. She's looking up at me in the stands again and when I meet her gaze, she smiles, shimmying her pompoms in a sarcastically excited way.

Alright, if she texts again after this game is over I'll believe she wants to be friends for real.

(A/N what a cheesy title right? lol I couldn't think of anything else except "Riverdale au" and that's not fun. hope you guys like it. updates when I can)


	2. Chapter 2

BETTY

As soon as the final whistle blows, final score Riverdale 54, Southside 61, I'm on my way to the benches holding the squad's stuff. I sling my duffle bag over my shoulder and disappear into the girl's locker room without another glance at my team. Ronnie will be pissed but I can't seem to find the will to care about that sort of thing anymore.

You'd think after messing around with and stealing your best friend's boyfriend you'd treat said friend with a little more kindness or, at the very least, just ignore her but no, not Veronica Lodge, Park Avenue Princess. Ever since her and Archie went public she's been up my ass about every single little thing I do even slightly wrong. It's like she's punishing me for what she did wrong. God forbid I forget one move of a brand new routine or she'll be sneering and yelling at me to "perfect up" or she'll kick me off the squad. At this point I almost want to say "then do it, bitch." But I love dancing and I would miss it. So I bite my tongue and smile.

With some difficulty, I manage to unzip the back of my uniform and pull it off, stuffing it into my locker with a little more force than necessary. The rumble of voices and feet increases on the other side of the wall as everyone starts to leave the gym. I hasten my change, pulling my tank top on as I shimmy out of the pleated skirt. I kick it and my pristine, white tennis shoes with blue and yellow pompoms into the bottom of the locker and tug on a pair of jeans while stepping into my favorite pair of brown, suede ankle boots. The other girls are trickling into the room as I'm shrugging on my pick cardigan and pulling the blue and yellow ribbon off of my ponytail.

Veronica shoots me a look as she passes and it looks like she's about to say something but I grab my jacket and purse and slam the locker too loudly, effectively cutting her off. I'm out the door before she gets another chance.

I don't mean to, but I find myself looking around the emptying gym for a leather jacket or a grey beanie. My heart sinks a little when I don't see ether. I liked talking to him. Jughead. He was the only one in the whole gym who wasn't overly into the game or on their phone. I don't know what made me decide to take the plunge but when I saw him writing in that little book, I knew I had to go for it. Veronica might have been being a grade A bitch to me but Archie was always throwing my pitying looks whenever the three of us were in the same room. And I know they've been saying "how sad it is" that I got dumped right before Prom, I've heard them talking. And I'm sick of it, of them.

So maybe if I just act like I've found someone new, they'll both leave me alone. I roll my eyes and dig my phone out of my purse. My mood lifts considerably when I see the '1 new message' notification light up my screen.

'_Sure_' Jughead.

Wow, okay, I wasn't expecting him to agree. He must think it's something I'd never guess. Alright then I'll just have to think of the most embarrassing names I can come up with because it has to be awful if he goes by 'Jughead'.

I hover over the keypad, deliberating. I finally settle on '_Tolliver_?' and slide my phone into my pocket.

The early March night air chills me as I push open the set of doors leading to the parking lot so I stop to slip my coat on.

"Not even close," a warm voice remarks behind me, "but kudos on the truly different name. I was expecting something much more normal for a first guess."

I whip around and see Jughead leaning against the wall of the school, smoking, with his cell phone in hand. "Don't let the blonde hair or cheerleading uniform deceive you," I smirk, folding my arms across my chest, "I'm actually quite smart." He gives me a lazy grin in response and I watch as the dying butt falls to the ground where he snubs it out with a booted foot.

"I never underestimate a woman. I know too many of them that can kick my ass." I laugh as he pulls off the wall, walking toward me. Now that we're both standing I can see he has a few inches on me. He's tall and lean with an angular jaw and a splash of birth marks across his face. Under his leather jacket he wears a faded red flannel and a grey t-shirt with an 'S' on it. A pair of suspenders dangles around his denim-clad thighs and that grey, crown like beanie sits atop his head, jet black hair spilling out across his forehead in a wave underneath it. It's hard to make out his eyes in the dim street light but they look light with faded bruising around them like he didn't get much sleep last night.

"Congrats to your friend Sweet Pea on the win tonight."

"Shouldn't you be upset about that Miss _Riverdale_ Cheerleader?" He slips his phone into his back pocket and sidles up next to me, giving me that lazy grin again.

I brush a stray lock of hair off my cheek and say flippantly, "I'm only in it for the dancing." His laugh is a deep, almost raspy chuckle, like I've caught him off guard. I like it. I glance around the mostly empty parking lot and back at him. "Where are your friends?"

"They went off to a party to celebrate Southside's win of course." He shrugs and we start walking away from the building, toward my car and, I guess, his too.

I try to guess which one is his as we walk but then I notice the motorcycle at the end of the row and I'm convinced that has to be his. "And you didn't want to go with them?"

"I'm not much for parties." He fishes a set of keys from his jacket pocket, our steps slow the closer we get to our vehicles.

Surprise, surprise, I think wryly. We're almost at the point where I have to turn right to go to my station wagon so I stop, wanting to prolong the encounter, and say, "well then what do your plans entail? Or is that above my friendship level too?" I smile so he knows I'm kidding.

He's stopped walking now too and he shoots me an amused look as he says, "I was planning on going to Pop's to write. It's usually quiet there this time of night and Pop's has the best burgers and coffee."

"Yeah they are good. I prefer the milkshakes and grilled cheese myself though." He jingles his keys in his hand, nodding. I keep quiet, hoping he'll invite me along. It's rude to just invite yourself right? And what if he'd only say yes to be nice but he'd rather be alone to write? I don't want to impose.

"Has Pop ever made you his favorite shake? He doesn't keep it on the menu." When I shake my head, looking properly intrigued I hope, he continues, "it's chocolate, peanut butter, banana, and strawberry. It's amazing and you have to try. Are you busy now?"

I shake my head again, "nope, I was just going to head home and read probably. But that milkshake sounds too good to pass up."

"Great, I'll meet you over there then, okay? Don't want to leave my bike here." Called it.

"Alright," I back towards my car, keeping my eyes on him, a happy warmth building inside my chest, "see you in a few minutes. And I'll have a new name to ask when I get there." I turn and hurry to the station wagon as he calls a dubious 'good luck' behind me.

It's been a while since I've hung out with anyone who isn't Kevin and I'm excited about it. Even though Archie and I were still technically together, we weren't seeing each other much outside of school since Christmas. He said it was because of basketball and his band but really it was Veronica. Looking back, I can't believe how stupid I was to trust him. I could tell he was acting different. Sometimes I really hate my tendency to see the best in people.

Maybe a small part of me is excited because it's Jughead too. He caught my eye in the gym and the more I learn about him, the more I want to know. Plus I'll be able to tell what color his eyes are in Pop's. Descriptions are very important to writers after all.

As I slide into my car, which Kevin has affectionately nicknamed Katherine Heigl because it's an aging, "blonde" (beige), drama queen who gives solid performances, I see that Jughead hasn't taken off yet. When I turn my car on, he waves and starts his bike, heading out of the lot. I think he was waiting to make sure I got to my car alright which is very endearing and unexpected. I smile to myself as I follow him to Pop's, flipping through a list of unconventional names as I go.


End file.
